May 2013

Look at the carefree people going about their business in this quirky locale. Did you wander onto the set of a saccharine “We Are the World”–inspired performance art piece? Well, that isn’t such a stretch of the imagination.

You are about to explore an urban renewal project filled with found art and more functional installations (benches, trash cans) from numerous countries; the pieces were selected by local residents to reflect their homelands. Opened last summer, the funky site is made up of three zones: the “red square” before you; a plaza whose black floor is laced with curvy white stripes; and a long stretch of undulating green hills. Kids cavort on a black octopus slide, while adults hunch over chessboards next to a star-shaped Arabic fountain. A black bull cutout from a classic Spanish billboard and bright-red rubbish bins from Britain, along with neon doughnut and dentist signs, bar stools, and manhole covers, add a decidedly Duchampian flavor to this celebration of diversity.

A vibrant spot in the nation’s capital, it was meant to give an added jolt to a once marginalized district that has been compared to the Bronx and Brixton. Though riots erupted in its gritty, recent past, locals now picnic in a cemetery where a seminal existentialist and a beloved fairy-tale writer reside. Visitors flock to flea markets and converted warehouse shops hawking centuries-old porcelain, glass, and silverware. A cult-hit TV series was shot here too, thanks to a boom in hipster (yes, they’re everywhere) cafés, brew pubs, and upscale furniture stores with a distinct modernist aesthetic.

After parking your bike in the rainbow racks to the right, relax on an Ethiopian stone bench—or perhaps a glazed mosaic one from Tunisia—and think about how you can bring a bit of this whimsy back to your own hometown.